Story:Star Trek: Conflict/Tragedy
The secrets of Alicia Rookwood's history are revealed... Summary Teaser Lianna Young finishes reading Heinlein's novel, and ask Zhangli Tai about her thoughts regarding origins, and wonders if, since most anything is possible in their experience, it were possible that one person could orchestrate the creation of their own existence. While they debate on whether or not the constrictions of temporal travel and the Temporal Prime Directive - which, though they have broken at times, they try to remain the most adherent to - would make doing such a death-sentence or not, an emergency message comes through from another place on the ship. The message is from the Bridge, it is Nox, who urges the captain to order a full-stop and allow him to go to the ''Enterprise'' s medbay. Though she is confused as to why he chooses to ignore his pledge never to step foot on it, he gives her the cryptic reply of... :It's time. Chapter One In the med-bay of the ''Enterprise'', Alicia Rookwood has gone into labor. Nox beams over from the ''Admonitor'', rushes into the med-bay and, despite protests from Dr. Boreas, makes his way into the medical bay to attend to her. Young prepares to go over there herself to represent both herself and the missing Captain Shield, but K'hallA reports that they have an incoming ship to worry about. With Rookwood going through strong contractions and an armed and shielded Earth ship having now dropped out of warp, it looks like a stand-off, one which neither Young nor K'hallA which to bring to blood for fear of damaging Nox's offspring. The moment Rookwood's baby is delivered (a female), the third vessel breaks radio-silence. It is a run-about, piloted by a lone human female, who requests that she be allowed to board the ship and meet Alicia Rookwood, to whom she claims a distant relation. Captain Young accepts, but has the woman placed in a cell while she goes onto the Enterprise-C herself to welcome the new child. Chapter Two Practically everyone is gathered in the med-bay of the Enterprise. Dr. Boreas has frankly given up on trying to keep people out. Young is happy that the child is a girl, and tells the mother and father that Captain Shield would be proud if he were here. She asks them to think up a good name and then leaves, asking K'hallA to join her. Young asks her what she knows about blessed births, and K'hallA mentions the Klingon sect, but says that she never believed in it. Young tells K'hallA that the birth of this child means that whatever end might become of the crew, their mission is blessed since life has come about. After sharing a brief moment of sentimentality wherein Young's eyes start to water and K'hallA is disgusted by the weak ways in which humans express their emotions, the captains then make for the prison-cell to interview the prisoner. The person begs them once again to be let out to meet her relative, now adding urgency to her tone and stating that others will come to kill the child. Young asks the person if she is one of the ones who wishes to kill the child, but the prisoner admits that if she did so, it would unmake her entire existence and cause some great catastrophe, since, she then admits, she is Diana Rookwood, great-niece of Alicia Rookwood. Chapter Three Diana is allowed to enter the med-bay, though stripped of her weapons, and she and Captain Young decide it best to not disclose her relation to Alicia Rookwood just yet. Alicia recognizes the new-comer from that time in the bathroom in that bar on Earth, and asks the woman to make herself known. She calls herself only Diana, and says that she is a relative. Alicia likes the name and asks Nox if he would like that to be their daughter's name. He agrees, but only on the condition that she also be called Alicia as well, after her mother: and so Alicia Diana Nox is welcomed into the world. An hour or so later, the intruder is being questioned by Young, K'hallA and Nox. She says that she doesn't know precisely who is after them, but that she will have to remain with them. Young doesn't like the idea, and demands to know why she is here. Diana reveals that she is from the near future, but the future of an alternate universe, wherein she was almost killed and chose to desert and come here, searching for her family. Young says that she believes her story, but refuses to harbor a deserter. Diana says that that response was what the others said: when asked, the "others" turn out to be officials and their counterparts in various alternate realities, wherein she investigated, looking for her family. From this, she said, she learned that Alicia's daughter is key to the survival of millions, and that she must be protected at all costs. Though Young doesn't exactly believe that one person could ever be that important, she is still wary and thinks that the prisoner has not revealed everything yet. Nox is getting more and more anxious, and demands to know everything, though Diana says she isn't ready yet to reveal all, but can reveal this only. Rookwood's child must survive, because she will help bring about the end of the war. Young asked what she meant by "winning the war", and asks if she means the war against the Federation, but Diana answers that it is a war with the Relons. Nox recalls the events surrounding Alicia's possession by the Relons just a few months ago, and asks what she means. Diana says that Alicia's possession left a mark on her, one that her descendant will help her use to bring about the destruction of the Relons. :"They work like a machine: all parts subordinate to their leader. But the leader controls the whole machine, and sees all through them, and its impossible to kill their leader before being killed by the drones; they receive all their commands directly from her. But, if one could send another message, one stronger and conflicting with that of their leader, then chaos comes to the hive." They do not take this threat all too seriously, since they were able to overcome the Relons before without incident, and Nox is rather furious that his wife and their child mean nothing more to this stranger than just a means to an end. They decide to incarcerate her indefinitely, a full interrogation pending. But while they are leaving, the ship goes back on red alert. Chapter Four K'hallA returns to the Enterprise-C, where the attack came from. A scan of the ship reveals a break-in at the med-bay. She runs to the med-bay and finds that it has been assaulted. Dr. Boreas was stunned and Alicia Rookwood and her daughter are missing. K'hallA informs the ''Admonitor'' of the event, and says she will continue scanning the area, searching for any trace of the intruder. When Nox discovers what happened, he runs to the brig to force an explanation out of Diana Rookwood. Chapter Five